Thursday, December 18, 2008

[ts]As some of you may already know, JS and I aren't really bakers. When we were invited to a Holiday Cookie Exchange, we accepted without really knowing what that entailed. Of course, we were a little horrified to discover that we would have to make 6 dozen cookies each!

But, horror finally subsided and I sat about choosing my cookie. I knew I wanted something with macha (Japanese green tea), but what?

I opened our Joy of Cooking and chanced about a chocolate shortbread recipe that was even easier than its "regular" shortbread. I based this cookie on that recipe with some changes:

1) I omitted the chocolate, of course, and added macha.

2) I also substituted some of the all-purpose flour with cornstarch.

3) Finally, I sprinkled sugar on top of the dough before baking.

I had to bake 3 batches of this on three separate nights. I must say, the three batches all had different textures! Teehee. But, the recipe was quite forgiving because even with the slightly different results, each batch was still delicious. At least, they were all delicious to me.

Those are cute. Very cute. I'm not sure if it's because it's my nightly snack time or what, but I want to take a bite right now. I have a bag of matcha (pilfered from my days working at Starbucks) in my pantry. When I find time, I will be sure to try these.

Many folks wonder what Matcha Green Tea tastes like. It is an often misunderstood, highly complex, alluring flavor. Chlorophyll together with amino acids supply Matcha with its distinctive rich taste. It has an initial astringent, vegetal taste which then gives way to a lingering sweetness. When Matcha is whisked with water in the traditional style of Japan, it is actually a very full-bodied green tea. The high intensity of your first Matcha experience can be compared to the first time you red wine or dark chocolate. When Matcha is used as in ingredient in baking, cooking, or beverages, the taste will become more subtle. It can add the unique flavor, (and generally the color), of green tea to a variety of creations such as ice cream, cupcakes, smoothies, a latte, or various different sauces.